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Thursday, August 19, 2010

Vacation...blessing or curse?

While on vacation in Seattle with my Mom, I lost 2.5 pounds. That's right, 2.5 pounds!

For many of us, trips or simple "stay-cations" are rife with pitfalls for any serious dieter. You eat out all the time, plus you cannot really stay on your normal sleep, water, and exercise routine. I had the same problems, but I made two goals for myself for my vacation. Exercise every single day. Not just walk around, do something that actually raised my heart rate (which is actually really hard for me now, since my resting heart rate is 41!). My other goal was to stick to 1200 calories a day. Here's how I did it.

Exercise: Before my folks got up in the morning, I woke up and walked two miles. Granted, I wasn't jogging most of the time, but I was taking a path that had inclines and required some effort. The hardest part about this aspect wasn't getting up, since my parents don't wake up very early. The hardest part was packing. I was the girl who went to Europe for a week with a school backpack--yeah--I am the lightest packer I know. This was the first trip I took where I had a difficult time fitting everything into a carry on bag! In part, I wanted to bring more fabulous clothes, since I am looking better. However, I needed to bring at least enough clothes to workout in as well. However, it seemed worth it to take a larger bag and check it, so I could have a good chance at meeting my goals on my trip.

Why (you may ask) didn't I just wash my workout clothes at my Mom's? Good question! Fitness asked successful, long term exercisers some of their tricks, and one of them was to have clean exercise clothes available to you AT ALL TIMES. I didn't want to have the excuse of not having clean clothes. In actuality, a few extra tee shirts and leggings didn't take up much room anyway. It was really worth it! What was funny, is that I didn't actually end up packing enough, so my Mom was nice enough to take me to Kohl's to pick up a few extra shirts. It's all a learning process!

1200 Calories: Staying on track with this goal was the hardest. Not because we were eating out a lot (which we were), but because my parents have ONE, one cup measuring cup! Thank God they had a food scale!!! Making food at their house was challenging. I am so grateful to my mother, who took me to the grocery store after she picked me up from the airport (we didn't even go home first!), so I was able to get a lot of pre-measured things (like yogurt and English muffins).

Actually, my family's support was invaluable, as they did not bat an eyelash when I asked for the 57 millionth time whether or not a restaurant had their nutritional information available. It must have been strange eating food with a person who takes five minutes to order dinner ("All dressing and sauces on the side"..."I am sorry are those vegetables steamed or sauteed?" yadda, yadda, yadda). I actually talked to three people (two of whom were managers) about the exact way they prepared their "spa chicken." Some servers will just tell you want they think you want to hear, not give you the truth about how the food is made. Persistence and big tips are key to make sure your food is prepared the way you want it.

When a restaurant does not offer their nutritional information, here is what I do to ensure success:

1. I do not order anything with "crispy" in the description.
2. I do not order any "entree sized" salad. Salads are loaded with extra calories. I order side or green salads only.
3. I will order food that is identifiable--no stews, curries, or sauces. Why? So, I can estimate how much of what I am eating.
4. I always assume that there is 100 calories of hidden fats in any restaurant meal, unless I have good reason not to.
5. I order things dry cooked and steamed. Yes, it's not as tasty as your companion's food, but you will lose weight.
6. Order a la carte if possible--that way, if you just want to eat one egg and English muffin, you are not tempted by the rest of the food in a regular sized breakfast. This technique is harder at dinner time, but still possible.
7. Order the appetizer size of something.
8. Look up the nutritional information of the restaurant before you order--when the server sees the calorie book in your hand, he or she know you are serious.
9. Don't be chintzy--a lot of people don't realize this, but servers often get paid less than minimum wage and live off tips (yep it's legal). If you order something that is off the menu or complicated, tip 20%. Or, in the case of you Optifast folks, leave a the tip you would have left, had you not brought your own food.
10. If you think the server is uninformed or lying to you, just confirm your needs. "Are you sure that fish is cooked without butter? It's really important to me to make sure. I will have to send it back if there is butter on there." The server doesn't want the hassle of you sending back food, so he or she will make sure to talk to the kitchen.

To wrap up, my vacation was a blessing, since I got to hang with my folks and challenge myself in new ways!

Anyway, here are the numbers!

Starting weight: 224
Current weight: 167
Goal weight: 140

Outer Goal: Right now, I am looking pretty good, like a chunky Christie Brinkley with glasses--so I perhaps....Elle McPherson on the cover of Sports Illustrated?

Inner Goal: To make sure I treat myself, because I achieved two major goals this week and...say it with me...WORLD PEACE!

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